Boiler.



No. 689,239; Patented nec.l|7, 190|.

J. n. sNEnnoN..

BOILEB.

(Application mea Apr. 12. 1901.)

(llolodal.)

Y means whereby these boilers may be emptied UNITED STATES;

PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES P. ISNEDDON, OF BARBERTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE STIRLINGCOMPANY,-OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

BOILER'.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 689,239, dated December17, 1901.

e Application filed April 12, 1901. Serial No. 55,547. (No model.)

To (LU whom, t may concern.:

Be it known that I, JAMES P. SNEDDON, a resident of Barberton, in thecounty of Summit and State of Ohio, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Boilers; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to improvements in N iclausse, Durr, or similarboilers; and its object is to provide means whereby said boilers may beconveniently emptied of the water contained therein.

The Niclausse and Durr boilers are provided with a series of water-tubeseach of which comprises anouter tube and an inner circulating-tube, bothof which are connected at their forward ends to vertical headers orwater-legs which communicate at their upper ends with a steam andwateridrum or similar device. By reason of this double formation of thetubes the header or water-leg is provided with a diaphragm, so as toform, in eect, two compartments o1' passages in said header, with one ofwhich the outer watertubes communicate and with the other of which theinner circulating-tubes communicate, the said diaphragm serving toseparate the two currents of circulation on the uptake and downtake, asthey are called, in said header. The Water-tubes have no connection attheir rear ends, so that they may be perfectly free to expand andcontract, the only communication with said tubes being at their forwardends. These tubes, furthermore, Vare preferably inclined toward therear, so as to secure a freer breaking of the steam bubbles from thesurfaces of said pipes. As a consequence of this construction when theboiler is put out of use it is impossible to drain the water from saidtubes, ther rearward inclination of said pipes preventing the water fromrunning out at their forward ends. Heretofore the only way of emptyingthe water from these boilers has been by removing said tubes from theboiler. This of course is a slow and tedious process.

-The object of my invention is to provide of water without the necessityof removing the tubes therefrom; and to this end it oomprises an outletfrom the lower end of the uptake compartment or passage in the header,together with means for closing the upper end of said uptake compartmentor passage, whereby steam or other gaseous pressure may be admitted intothe drum and then circulate through the boiler-tubes, driving the waterbefore the same and out through the outlet communicating with the lowerend of said uptake-passage..

The accompanying drawing is a sectional elevation of so much of aNiclausse boiler as will explain my improvement therein.

In said drawing, 1 represents the steam and water drum, and 2 thewater-tubes, of an ordinary Niclausse or Durr boiler, said tubes eachcomprising the outer Water-tube 3 and the inner circulating-tube 4, saidtubes in the Niclausse boiler illustrated being connected at theirforward ends to the header 5, but having no connection at their rearends, as shown at 6, and inclining from their front to the rear, asshown. The header 5 is provided with the longitudinal diaphragm 7, whichdivides the said header into two compartments or passages, the forwardor downtake compartment or passage S and the rear or uptake passage 9.The outer tubes' are connected to the frame 10, said frame forming watertight seats in the openings 11 12 in the rear and front walls,respectively, of the header 5 and being cut away, as at 13 and 14. Theinner tube 4 is connected to the frame 15, which is seated in the frame10 and secured thereto by means of the swivel-nut 16 engaging ascrew-threaded opening in' the forward end of the frame 10. Both framesare held in position by means of suitable clamps 17, secured to bolts18, projecting from the front face of the headers.

So far as described the construction of the boiler is old, and in theuse of said boiler the water passes from the drum 1 down through thecompartment or passage 8 and through the cut-away portions 14 in theframes l0 and through suitable openings 19 in the frames 15 and thenceinto the circulatingtubes 4, passing through said tubes to the rear endof the boiler and thence out and back to the front of the boiler throughthe spaces between. the tubes t and the tubes 3 and out through thecut-away portions 14 of IOO provision has heretofore been made fordrainfices; but at any rate the rear or uptake coming the water from thetubes 2 except by removing said tubes from the boiler. In my improvedboiler the lower ends of the header may be provided with the usualdrain-oripartment or passage 9 is provided with an out-V let 20, saidoutlet being secured by means of a pipe-tting 2l, communicating with theup` take compartment or passage 9 and extending beyond the front wall ofsaid header, where it is provided with a suitable valve 22. Thisfitting, however, must have no communication with the front compartmentor passage 8. The upper end of the uptake passage or compartment 9 isadapted to be closed by any suitable means, said means in the drawingbeing shown as a plug 23, which seats itself in the opening in the upperend of said compartment or passage 9 and'which normally remains seated,as shown, by its own weight, the pressures on the upper and lower sidesthereof being balanced, so that there is no tendency for it to rise; butany simple and convenient means may be used to hold it seated, if foundnecessary.

In the use of my invention when it is desired to empty the boiler ofwater the Water is rst drained from the drum 1 and header 5 through theoutlet 20, and then the plate 24, covering the manhole 25, is removedand the plug 23 inserted by hand in the drum and placed in the upper endof iheuptakepassage 9, as shown. The cover-plate 24 is then replaced andsteam or other gaseous pressure is introduced into the drum 1, saidsteam or similar agent passing down through the compartment or passage 8through the inner circulating-tubes 4, driving the Water containedtherein before the same and forcing the same out through the rear end ofsaid tubes and back forward through the space between the tubes4and thetubes 3 and into the compartment 9. Inasmuch, however, as saidcompartment 9 is closed at its upper end, the only path open for thewater is down through said passage or compartment and through the outlet20.

While I have shown a plug for closing the upper end of the passage orcompartment 9, I wish it understood that my invention is not limitedthereto, but that any means whatsoever for closing the upper end of saidpassage is within the scope of my invention. The water in the header 5and drum 1 can of course be drained out through the opening 20,

as the frames 10 do not fit in the diaphragm 7 so tightly as to preventthe water from the compartment 8 flowing into the compartment 9.Consequently the plug or disk to be inserted in the upper end of thepassage 9 can be readily putin place by hand and may consist of anysuitable plug, disk, valve, or equivalent closure for the upper end ofthe uptake 9, and it will remain seated, because, as above stated, thepressures on the top and bottom thereof are balanced.

When the boiler which is to be emptied is one of a battery of boilers,lthe pressure necessary to drive the water from the tubes thereof may besecured by admitting steam from one of the other boilers in the batteryinto the drum l, and invthis manner, therefore, all of the boilers ofthe battery can be emptied except one of said boilers. To empty thislast boiler, it will be necessary to derive the pressure from some othersource, and it may beconveniently derived from an airpump driven from anelectric or other suitable motor. The means, however, for providing thispressure forms no part of my inveution.

While I have shown the outlet communieating with the lower end of theuptake-compartment and the valve closing the upper end of saidcompartment, it is obvious that the outlet and valve may be provided forthe downtake compartment or passage and that in emptying the boiler thecourse of the steam and other pressure would -be the reverse of thatdescribed. Such a modification I deem within the scope of my invention.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

l.- In a boiler having inner and outer watertubes communicatingrespectively with a downtake and an uptake compartment or passage, anoutlet communicating with the lower end of one of said compartments orpassages, and means for closing the upper end of the same compartmentorpassage.

2. In a boilerhaving inner and outer watertubes communicatingrespectively with a downtake and an uptake compartment, an outletcommunicating with the lower end of the uptake-compartment, and meansfor closing the upper end of said compartment.

3. In a boiler having inner and outer Watertubes communicatingrespectively with a downtake and an uptake compartment or passage, anoutlet communicating with the lower end of the uptake-compartment, and aplug for closing the upper end of said compartment or passage.

In testimony whereof I, the said JAMES P. SNEDDON, have hereunto set myhand.

JAS. P. SNEDDON.

Witnesses:

O. D. EVERHARD, E. E. BAKER.

IOO

